Improvement in boiler-rivet machines



with the finger attachment.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES B. ALLEN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOILER-RIVET MACHINES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,137, dated July 18, 187i.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES B. ALLEN, of the city of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improved Boiler-Rivet Machine, of which the following is a speciication:

The irst part of my invention relates to the combination oftwo levers,one workin g the header, the other the plug to knock out the rivets by means of a sliding bar and cam, so that at each revolution of the cam a rivet is headed and, sufiicient time being allowed the rivet to cool and shrink in the die, knocked out withoutany difficulty. The second part of my invention relates to the combination of a sidelever for working the cutter with the finger, holding the rivet while being carried forward to be headed, operated by a cam-motion produced by means of ordinary devices, such as oblique grooves, shoulders, Ste., 011 wheels keyed to the shaft of the principal cam. The third part of my invention relates to the arrangement of the die, whereby a solid block of metal with central holes of the requisite size or sizes is used until worn, when, by reaming out, the same block can be reused for producing rivets of the next larger diameter.

Figure l is an isometrical view of the machine, showing the header, knock-out, and side levers Fig. 2 is a top plan, showing clearly the method of producing the cammotion for operating the side lever. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section, showing those parts of the machine which are at the lower side of the line x drawn across Fig. 2, and right side of the line a: drawn across Fig. 1.

A is the frame of the machine, substantially constructed to resist the vibrations of the operating parts. B is the main shaft, worked by a driving-pulley, C, and from which motion is communicated to the other parts of the machine. D is the cam, operating the header E by means of the lever F, which is cast with jaws and has a roller, G, set upon an axle, H, between them to diminish friction, the lever F being assisted in its return motion by a spring, I, or similar device, connected with the head of the lever by rod J. K is the knock-out lever, adjusted by means of screw L, and which, not striking' the plug M until after the rivet is headed and nearly a half-revolution of the cam completed, permits the rivet to cool and to be struck out without difficulty. N is the sliding bar with roller O, indicated by dotted lines in black ink in Fig. 3, which set between jaws cast at end of the bar, and, revolving on pinion P, also diminishes friction. This sliding bar Works through an opening at the lower side of the frame opposite the lower end of the knock-out lever, and communicates the blow received from the cam to the lever, which is assisted in its return to its original position not only by the weight of its lower portion Q, but by a spring or bar, R, fastened to the side of the frame, as at S. T is the wheel, keyed upon the axis of the principal shaft B, with a groove, in which the lower end of the lever U works, cut in such a manner as to produce the cam-motion the same as though the lever was worked by a very rank cam operating in the direction of the motion of the lever, and adjusted so as to act in contact with the other and principal cam, as hereafter described. V is the cutter, operated by this side lever U. This cutter is accompanied in its forward motion by the finger W, supported at its lower end by a rod, Y, turning upon a pivot, Z, and resting at its center by means of a support, a, upon a wheel, b, made with a shoulder and keyed upon the principal shaft B, or cast as part ofthe wheel T. W, the iinger, is jointed at c, and works through an opening, d, in one ofthe lugs, supporting' the pin c of the lever U, and is supported at its upper end j' by a pin turning in jaws g, fastened to the cutter V, so that while playing freely up and down in the jaws, according as the lower support a' rests upon the periphery of the wheel b or its shoulder, the 1in ger travels back and forth with the cutter V. h is the gauge-bar, fastened onto the frame of the machine, and adjusted by screw and nuts at 1'., by which the length of metal to be cut off for each rivet is regulated, each rivet being held irmly in its place after being out ofi by the end It of the inger W until opposite the cen- A tra] opening l in the die. m, when the header E, having advanced and taken hold, the linger is instantly relaxed, iying upward, the rivet headed by the header E and allowed to cool in the die, which is kept cool by means of a constant supply of water introduced around it by means of a pipe fed from beneath or in any convenient method. After having cooled off durin g the half-revolution of the cam l), the headed rivet is knocked out by the lever K and plug M, and falls through the discharge-trough n, as represented in Fig. l. m, the die, is cast solid, with usually eight openings,

so that an alternate pair of openings may be used, the corner holes being a sixteenth of an inch larger in diameter than the central ones, and the central ones made of exactly the size requisite to produce the rivets needed. By this means, even when worn out for one size, by reaming out, the die can be reused for the next size larger, and the expense attending the old process avoided. The die m is adjusted by side pins or wedges 0, and the header E by means of wedges, nuts, and screws at p.

Thebar of heated metal isfed through the opening q, the side lever being then in that portion of the groove in the wheel. T nearest the body of the machine, (indicated on Fig. 2 by an arrow in black ink.) The length of the cut off having been already regulated by the gauge-bar h, adjusted as already described, motion is communicated by beltin g attached to the main shaft B. The side Y lever U, traveling in the diagonal portion r /r of the groove in wheel T, advances the cutter V, while the shoulderl cast on the wheel b raises the rod Y and jointed portion C of the finger, which,

' secured at j', falls against the circular opening` in the critter, and, by its lower extremity k, secures the piece of metal when severed by the cutter until it is brought opposite the axis of the central opening l in the die, adjusted so as to be exactly opposite the center of the opening in the frame of the machine in which the plug m is worked. During this time the cam D has pressed forward the header E, and the instant the bar is seized and being pressed into the cent 1al opening the support a dropsfrom the shoulder ofthe wheel b upon its periphery, causing the extremity k of the finger to release its hold and fly up, While the side lever, traveling in the direction of the diagonal portion of the groove in wheel T, marked s s, draws back the cutter ready for another rivet, in which position it continues until the groove is traversed to r 1^ again. Meanwhile, the rivet being headed and cooled, the cam D strikes the sliding bar, which forces the knock-out lever against the plug M, which ejects the rivet into the dischargetrough u. The ranlzness of the cam-motions and the sudden drop by means of the shoulder on wheel b produce an instant blow and release just at the times needed, while interval enough is allowed to cool the rivet before being ejected.

I claim as my inventionl. The die mf, provided with two or more holes, in combination with the cutter V, the iinger lV pivoted on said cutter, and the mechanism described for operating the cutter and iinger to grasp and carry forward the rivets to the die, substantially as described.

2. The header E, lever F, and cam D, in combination with the subject-matter ofthe first claim, substantially as described.

3. The pin M, lever K provided with adjusting-screw L and mechanism, as described, to vibrate said lever, in combination with the subjectmatter of the irst claim.

4. The combination of the pin M, lever K provided with the adjusting-screw L, sliding bar N, and cam D, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Witnesses:

FRANK WoLFE, G. H. MELCHER.

CEAS. B. ALLEN. 

